Spermidine acetyltransferase is required to prevent spermidine toxicity at low temperatures in Escherichia coli.

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Limsuwun K, Jones PG

Spermidine acetyltransferase is required to prevent spermidine toxicity at low temperatures in Escherichia coli.

J Bacteriol. 2000 Oct;182(19):5373-80.

PubMed ID

10986239 [ View in PubMed

]

Abstract

Polyamines are required for optimal growth in most cells; however, polyamine accumulation leads to inhibition of cellular growth. To reduce intracellular polyamine levels, spermidine is monoacetylated in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In Escherichia coli, the speG gene encodes the spermidine acetyltransferase, which transfers the acetyl group to either the N-1 or N-8 position. In addition to polyamine accumulation, stress conditions, such as cold shock, cause an increase in the level of spermidine acetylation, suggesting an adaptive role for reduced polyamine levels under stressful growth conditions. The effect of spermidine accumulation on the growth of E. coli at low temperature was examined using a speG mutant. At 37 degrees C, growth of the speG mutant was normal in the presence of 0. 5 or 1 mM spermidine. However, following a shift to 7 degrees C, the addition of 0.5 or 1 mM spermidine resulted in inhibition of cellular growth or cell lysis, respectively. Furthermore, at 7 degrees C, spermidine accumulation resulted in a decrease in total protein synthesis accompanied by an increase in the synthesis of the major cold shock proteins CspA, CspB, and CspG. However, the addition of 50 mM Mg(2+) restored growth and protein synthesis in the presence of 0.5 mM spermidine. The results indicate that the level of spermidine acetylation increases at low temperature to prevent spermidine toxicity. The data suggest that the excess spermidine replaces the ribosome-bound Mg(2+), resulting in ribosome inactivation at low temperatures.

DrugBank Data that Cites this Article

Drug Enzymes

Drug	Enzyme	Kind	Organism	Pharmacological Action	Actions
Spermine	Diamine acetyltransferase 1	Protein	Humans	Unknown	Substrate	Details
Spermine	Diamine acetyltransferase 2	Protein	Humans	Unknown	Substrate	Details